


The Three Gods

by TheSovereigntyofReality



Category: Dragon Ball, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Civil War Team Iron Man, Crossover, Different Universes, Gen, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Not Steve Friendly, Not Wanda Friendly, Tags May Change, Team Tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-04-14 21:05:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 16,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14144577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSovereigntyofReality/pseuds/TheSovereigntyofReality
Summary: Following the Avengers Civil War, Stark Tower receives some visitors who are going to have an embarrassingly easy time of defeating Thanos.And putting the Rogues in their place.





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer: If you recognise it from somewhere else, it isn't mine.**
> 
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> 
> This fic was inspired by an idea I got from reading the comments section of Chapter 2 of aliaoftheworlds's story, Help Wanted - part of the Bitter Retribution series.
> 
> Also, I'd like to take a moment to advertise a fic gifted to me that isn't getting as much love as it really should be. Bookfreak1317, I hope you don't mind me putting this here but that fic is a work of art:  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/13904649/chapters/31999419

A sleek silver ship descended into Earth’s atmosphere.

One of the men on board, looked at the computer screens. He spoke in an odd language as he gave coordinates to the highest level of technology on the planet. The only woman gave the location of the property which had the engineer inside. The other man flew the ship down to a small mega-city (but probably one of the largest on this planet). The man at the scanners flicked a switch, concealing them from the view of the humans below.

Unlike their own version of Earth, this one did not have flying cars so they couldn’t blend in – so to speak.

They descended to the top of a tall building with a massive Earth English letter on the front. The woman chuckled. ‘We’ve got a welcoming committee.’

The pilot looked through the window. ‘So we do.’

There were three people on top of the building. One was a man with dark brown hair and unconventional facial hair for this planet. The only man sitting had darker skin, and a stern expression on his face. The third person was the most interesting. None of the other humans registered on this planet had _red_ skin.

‘Registers as human,’ the pilot murmured. ‘What does the computer say?’

The woman hit a few switches to get the answer. ‘Synthetic human. Be interesting to find out how he was born. He only registers as about a year old.’

‘Hm.’ The pilot came to a landing.

The three stood up and walked off of the bridge and to the door. Hitting a button, the door opened and the descended the ramp in triangular formation. The three humans were waiting for them but said nothing. The pilot, at the head, spoke first as they came to stand on the roof of the building.

‘I’m sorry for the intrusion,’ he said, careful to speak in Earth English. ‘We’ve been sent to help you deal with the warlord heading your way. We figured, due to the kind of hardware we picked up here, that you were aware of the impending threat.’

The man at the head of the humans quirked his lips. ‘Yes, I was. But good luck convincing anyone else.’

‘I wouldn’t say that, Tones,’ the man in the wheelchair said. ‘Someone from space was actually sent to help out, which leads validation to the impending invasion.’

‘Would you happen to know when this invasion is coming?’ the red-skinned man asked.

‘They sent us two years in advance so that we could familiarise ourselves with your culture and your planet before we defend it,’ the woman said.

‘I’m sorry,’ the pilot said. ‘We’re being rude, aren’t we? I’m Onilo.’ He gestured to the man on his left. ‘This is Alfal.’ Then he gestured to the woman on his other side. ‘And this is Dila.’

The human man nodded. ‘I’m Tony Stark.’ He clapped the dark-skinned man on the shoulder. ‘This is Col. James Rhodes.’ And then he nodded to the other man. ‘And this is Vision.’

***

Tony took the three aliens into the Tower.

FRIDAY had picked up their ship, and the stealth technology. He was impressed, to say the least. If they had been sent, though, he needed details. That was why he brought them into the penthouse. Tony had thoroughly learned his lesson before, and he wasn’t going to be easily accepting people anymore.

‘So, you actually know what’s coming?’ Tony asked.

‘In a manner of speaking,’ Alfal said. ‘We’ve been briefed. He’s called Thanos and he’s known as the Mad Titan. He’s the most feared thing in your galaxy because he goes to planets and civilisations and completely destroys them. No one really knows why.’

‘And you guys can stop him?’ Rhodey asked.

‘It shouldn’t be too difficult for us,’ Onilo said. ‘We have two advantages over him.’

‘He uses an Infinity Gauntlet,’ Dila explained. ‘It’s not fully powered but it’s powered by the Infinity Stones.’ She nodded to Vision. ‘One of which is resting in your forehead.’

Vision nodded. ‘Is that why he’s coming to Earth?’

‘Yes,’ Alfal said. ‘But I believe there’s another one somewhere around as well. The thing about the Infinity Stones, though, is that they don’t work on people from other universes.’

‘You’re from another universe?’ Tony asked.

‘Yes,’ Onilo said. ‘And we’re also Saiyans. In our universe, Saiyans are a race that are known as, among other things, “the Warriors of the Universe”. We evolved as a warrior race so we’re actually built for hand-to-hand combat.’

‘So it’s not much for you to take out an army that size?’ Tony asked.

‘Of course not,’ Alfal said. ‘A single Saiyan could take out a planet with one finger. There’s three of us. We’ve also seen this guy’s portfolio. It’s nothing to some of the others we’ve fought. When Thanos destroys a planet, the planet is still physically there after the fact.’

Which introduced a lot of concerning questions about what kind of power they usually faced.

‘So you’re kind of like the Asgardians?’ Rhodey asked.

Alfal pulled out a holographic device and quickly looked up what the Asgardians were and the subsequent Norse Culture. ‘No,’ he said. ‘That’s a warrior culture. They glorify war, and they condition their bodies for the battlefield. A warrior species, such as ourselves, is genetically predisposed to enjoy physical combat. We could beat the ever-living shit out of each other and then later on share a meal. Our bodies are built to fight. We can endure things that other races just can’t.’

‘To take an example,’ Dila put in. ‘About 20, 30 years ago, a Saiyan baby was living in the mountain ranges with his guardian. As the man was walking along a cliff-top, the baby ended up toppling out of the carry-basket on his guardian’s back. He went over the cliff and hit a rock at the bottom, head-first. He was out of it for a week or two but he was fine.’

Rhodey’s eyebrows had just about climbed to his hairline. ‘After falling off a cliff and landing on his head?’

‘Yup,’ Onilo said.

‘Haw.’ Tony sat back and considered it. That kind of endurance, in one of their children, did lend itself to the idea that they were actually built to take the kind of damage that could happen in a fist-fight. ‘So you’re here for two years then?’

‘Yeah,’ Onilo said. ‘I think they want us to get invested in the planet before we actually save it.’

***

The file was put in front of the UN Committee.

_PLANET OF ORIGIN: Saiya_

_RACE: Saiyan_

_NUMBER: 3 (2 male; 1 female)_

_NOTES: Sent from external dimension in order to combat clause in the Infinity Stones (see: Infinity Stones report)._

_Saiyans possess unlimited potential in regards to strength. No changes in outward appearance as strength increases. Ability to gather internal body energy into a destructive force which is then used as a weapon – hence extreme appetite. This same method is used to propel the individual Saiyan through the air or to allow the Saiyan to hold themselves in mid-air (see: Video File 043B76)._

_Tails extend from coccyx bone. Tails are fully prehensile and are typically kept wrapped around the waist. In certain sparring situations (see: Video File A457/C09E), tails are used for balance or as a fifth limb to trip up or knock aside opponents._

_Attached were the three profiles of the Saiyans._

Everett Ross was more amused than anything else.

Thaddeus Ross would have liked to try and get his hands on the Saiyans, but the way they’d come in and the explanations had left the UN and the rest of the world with no doubt as to the coming invasion. It would be interesting to see if the Rogue Avengers crawled out of the woodwork when the information came to light. Irregardless, they had an imminent crisis.

Really, it was pathetic that _anyone_ had disregarded Stark’s warnings. No war was won in a single battle. Talbot, who had been watching the reconstruction of S.H.I.E.L.D., had sent a report in as to the dismissal of Tony’s concerns among those people. It was typical that the arrogance and egotism that S.H.I.E.L.D. was famous for had come so close to ending the whole world.

They had been guilty of the very narcissism that they accused Tony Stark of.

From the Video Files provided, Everett had the feeling that these Saiyans were only showing a small fraction of what they could do. Their sparring, against both enhanced and hologram, had the feeling of someone who put minimum effort into what they were doing. The scans and field tests Stark had handed over showed a discrepancy, as stated in the overview, in what it looked like they could do and what they could actually do.

Everett even wondered if they could go toe-to-toe with the Hulk.

But, for now, they needed to worry about ironing out the kinks in their planetary defence plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Onilo, Alfal, and Dila are good Saiyans.
> 
> I may get around to explaining it later in the story. If not, I'll explain at the end. ;)


	2. Negotiations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to start working out the politics of the matter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, and the next, Ross is Thaddeus Ross (the one we don't like) and not Everett.

The Skrulls hadn’t known what hit them.

The Fantastic 4 had released a report to the UN on exactly what the Saiyans had done to repel the invasion. Any lingering doubt had evaporated. They were as powerful as they’d claimed to be. And they had a few...extra skills. One of which was the ability to feel out life force or, far more accurately in credit to certain eastern nations, chi.

Alfal had, in fact, early on shown his own ability pretty early on – just to show he could (and because he’d tired of Thaddeus Ross’s voice). As a direct result, Rhodey now walked alongside Tony into the meeting room under his own power and without the aid of his braces. His spinal column was completely healed.

Old Thunderbolt had been sufficiently shut up and they had been able to proceed on business.

Now, the conversation was more on their strategy for when the Mad Titan did arrive.

‘The main problem is that we’ve no idea where on Earth he’ll land,’ Onilo was saying. ‘Ideally, we’d like to have a battlefield in the mountains somewhere. However, it may not be possible. In the circumstances, we will try to keep civilian casualties down to a minimum.’

That was something countries like Germany, Romania, and Nigeria really liked about these guys. They _wanted_ to fight this guy away from the populated areas. They wanted deserts and empty mountain ranges. They wanted places where there was _no one_. They were doing the one thing that had _never_ occurred to Rogers.

Tony would laugh if they actually forcibly moved the fight to one of these locations.

‘I don’t see why we don’t just lob a nuke at them,’ Thaddeus Ross said.

Onilo smirked and clicked his tongue at him. ‘If it was that easy, we wouldn’t be here.’

Ross sneered. ‘You’re suggesting he can’t be hurt by a goddamn nuke?’

‘Well, we can’t so, yes, it’s entirely plausible. ’

Ross chuckled. ‘Come on. What do you take us for? Nothing is immune to being blown up!’

Onilo just gave him a mild smile. ‘Well, let’s go to a firing range. You can shoot a missile of your own selection at me and I’ll prove it.’

There was a silence in the room. Everyone looked at Ross with a touch of amusement.

Ross quickly backtracked, looking like he’d sucked on a lemon. ‘Presuming this was true, how can we be so sure just three people can stop it?’ He was clearly going to say more, but Onilo cut him off.

‘Stop your fear-mongering, General. It doesn’t help anything.’ He then turned and addressed the committee. ‘May I suggest we return the conversation to more productive venues?’

‘An excellent idea,’ the Chairman, a Mr. Clements from Africa, stated. 

The meeting continued on with no more interruptions from Ross, who seemed to sit back scowling for the rest of the two hours. When they finally got out, the three Saiyans moved over to a table in the lobby with Tony and Rhodey. Alfal had thought it beneficial to look into contingency plans in the instance that the individuals who were currently being called, by more charitable mediums, the Rogue Avengers.

‘That message Rogers broadcasted,’ Onilo said, ‘screams of a man who takes his entire validation from being considered important. Someone like that will definitely come charging in when Thanos shows up like a...what do you say? Oh, yes. Like a bull in a china shop.’

Tony nodded. ‘So we’re looking at something like that. What are you thinking?’

‘I want to track them down,’ Dila said. ‘Get a feel of their life energy and then I can stop them when they do come charging in.’

‘You can do that?’ Rhodey asked.

‘We all can,’ Alfal said. ‘But we’d rather not advertise it.’

‘Fair enough.’ Tony grinned. ‘I’m sure I can help you track them down.’ As a matter of fact, it would be embarrassingly easy. They still had his gear. Even when Rogers had dumped the shield, he’d still retained the magnet that brought it back to him. Tony knew for a fact he still wore it. So did the UN but as long as they were quiet, no one wanted to risk more dead law enforcement officers.

The sound of approaching footfalls made them turn.

‘I’m sorry to interrupt.’ It was the Romanian delegate, Ms. Lungu. ‘But there was something I wanted to ask the Saiyans.’ 

Dila smiled. ‘Yes?’

‘I’m sorry to be so nosy, but you’ve described yourself as a warrior species, biologically,’ Ms. Lungu said. ‘How, then, would you classify humans?’  
Dila grinned. ‘You are a nurturer species, Ms. Lungu.’

Ms. Lungu looked surprised. ‘Nurturer?’

‘Yes,’ Dila said. ‘You are most sensitive, as a species, to the plights of your children. You will have a far more emotional reaction to children dying than adults dying. A warrior race has the rather unfortunate knee-jerk mentality that if they can’t survive alone, then they do not deserve to live.’

‘Which, of course, is why you took care of the children instead back before Saiya was destroyed,’ Alfal said with a cheeky grin.

Dila shrugged. ‘Well, yeah.’

***

 **Chişinău, Moldova**  
As Natasha had said, capitol cities were perfect for hiding in.

There were so many people around that no one looked twice at you, even if had been declared an international terrorist by corrupt governments lying to the people because people wrote you off as just looking like that person. Still, they kept their heads down and didn’t engage with people outside of their own circle.

Of course, that meant for all their paranoia they still didn’t see three people watching them: one from behind sunglasses, one from their reflections in the coffee shop window, and out in his peripheral vision.

They didn’t know they’d been spotted.

***

 **New York City, USA**  
‘So not very good at hiding, huh?’ Tony asked as the group walked towards Stark Tower.

‘I’m sure everyone knows they’re there,’ Dila said. ‘But they don’t engage for the same reasons that no one else is engaging.’

‘That reminds me,’ Onilo said, ‘how’s the gathering of a new team going?’

‘Pretty good, all things considered.’ Tony chuckled and shook his head. ‘Actually, Hope Van Dyne called us up.’

‘Isn’t she Hank Pym’s daughter?’ Rhodey asked.

‘Yup,’ Pepper said. ‘Apparently, she doesn’t share her father’s distaste for the Stark name. She was actually calling to apologise for Scott Lang’s part in the battle in Liepzig. Turns out he broke parole to do that so there’s a bounty on his head. Hope said he listened to one too many of her father’s anti-Stark rants.’

‘Oh, yeah.’ Alfal nodded. ‘I heard about that thing. Then I reviewed a few of the S.H.I.E.L.D. files on Pym Particles. Somehow, I don’t think it was Howard.’

‘Really?’ Tony asked. ‘Why not?’

‘Just his mannerisms during the whole exchange,’ Alfal said. ‘He seemed more exasperated than annoyed. So I viewed some other files of the Carter/Stark era of S.H.I.E.L.D.’

‘And what did you find out?’ Rhodey asked.

‘Any time there was a problem that Carter couldn’t account for, it was Howard’s fault.’ Alfal scowled. ‘Especially when it pertained to the science division or an engineering problem. It was _always_ Howard’s fault. Over time, some people started following her lead – such as Fury and a lot of people who’ve since been exposed as HYDRA operatives.’

The group stopped outside of the Tower’s entrance.

‘So they did the same thing to Howard as the current roster did to Tony?’ Pepper asked.

Alfal nodded. ‘He stopped trying to defend himself sometime in the 60s.’

Tony frowned. ‘I can now kind of understand why he was such a bitter old man.’ Lord knew being blamed for everything hadn’t done Tony any favours.

Rhodey nodded.

Onilo opened his mouth to say something but froze. All three Saiyans suddenly spun and looked to the skies. Tony frowned.

‘Something wrong?’ he asked.

‘Oh, yeah,’ Onilo muttered. ‘Apparently, Ross can't tell the difference between a firing range and the centre of a city.’

‘What?’ Pepper demanded.

‘Relax,’ Onilo said. He bent his knees. ‘It’s just an ordinary missile. I got this.’

‘You might want to step back, though,’ Dila advised.

The missile came into view – heading straight for the base of Stark Tower.

Onilo leapt forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clements is an African citizen of European descent.
> 
> The reasons Ross fired the missile (cause he's hardly going to admit to them) are as follows:
> 
> 1) he thought he wouldn't get caught
> 
> 2) he isn't concerned with a portion of NYC being destroyed
> 
> 3) he thinks he can take out Thanos with nukes
> 
> 4) and he wants to get rid of both Tony and the Saiyans.


	3. Ross Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ross gets comeuppance for launching a nuke at New York.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _Dragon Ball_  
>  Roshi (on Goku): When it comes to the laws of physics, he's a wanted man.

On Earth, it was utterly impossible to stop a missile with your bare hands.

So what Tony saw now was spectacular. Onilo leapt forward. The next thing Tony saw, he had his arms wrapped around the missile and was letting push him back but he was slowing it. Almost like someone applying the brakes to a car, Onilo slowed the missile in a way that should have been physically impossible.

People began to notice. None of them understood what was going on, but they did see the missile and the man slowing it down. Pedestrians ran for cover. Cars suddenly went into disarray. Some stopped and some tried to speed up. Regardless, everyone panicked and chaos erupted. Cars crashed into each other. People screamed and ran.

Tony ground his teeth.

Alfal and Dila were fast, though. Fast enough to prevent any further serious injury and they had clearly educated themselves on human anatomy so they could help those who had been injured when their cars had crashed. Tony turned his head.

‘Pepper?’

He didn’t need to say any more. She turned and ducked into the tower to get the first aiders. Tony ran a technology company. Injuries were bound to happen. This sort of thing was a little more serious than what they usually dealt with. But this was good enough until the paramedics could arrive.

Onilo’s feet connected with the ground. His heels dragged back, ripping up the paved ground. He was pushed back, until his heels hit the wall of the Tower. Then he stopped. Tony had just seen a man stop a missile with his bare hands. A moment later, the first aiders rushed out and out to the people on the road.

‘Hap!’ Tony called, heading over to Onilo.

‘I’ll get your tools!’ Happy ran into the Tower.

***

Rhodey sat next to Tony in the FBI offices as Thaddeus Ross was pulled in, cussing up a storm.

Of course, as soon as he walked into the room and saw President Ellis sitting at the table with Tony and Rhodey he shut up. Then he saw the missile sitting on the table in front of them. His face went white. No doubt he recognised the missile and he realised that the serial number had been traced back to him.

Exactly as Onilo had intended when he’d jumped at it instead of punching it away.

(He’d said he could; that it was easy, and Rhodey would personally like to see that.)

‘I take it you know what this is,’ President Ellis said, nodding to the missile. ‘The serial number was traced back to you. Care to explain?’

Ross pressed his lips together. ‘I have never seen that missile in my life.’

President Ellis shook his head. ‘Well, good luck convincing the public of that. A missile gets launched at downtown New York City. What do you think is going to happen?’

Ross glared at Tony.

‘Don’t go blaming me,’ Tony said. ‘No one can stop hackers.’

‘They got in while we were still processing,’ Rhodey stated. He knew FRIDAY had probably _allowed_ them in.

‘You are now under federal custody, General Ross,’ President Ellis stated. ‘Effective immediately, you are also suspended from your position as Secretary of State.’ He nodded to Director Callis of the FBI.

The Director stepped forward. ‘General Ross, you stand accused of Terrorism and Treason. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say may be held against you in a Court of Law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you by the court.’

Rhodey was satisfied to see him go.

***

_‘Today, Former Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross was found guilty of the charges of Terrorism and Treason against the United States of America,’ the news anchor reported. ‘The serial number on the missile, which was fired at Stark Tower in the middle of Manhattan, was traced back to himself when the missile failed to explode. General Ross, who had been suspended from his office of Secretary of State, has now been sacked by President Matthew Ellis once the conviction was released. We were able to secure a quote from the President.’_

An image of the President appeared, facing the camera in a room clearly set up for an interview. _‘As the time that Thaddeus Ross was appointed to office, we had no idea of the more unsavoury aspects of his personality. We in the White House deeply regret giving him such a position of power. The citizens of these United States can rest assured that the new Secretary of State has been screened far more thoroughly than the previous one.’_

The camera switched back to the studio where the news anchor sat. _‘The screening process can be accessed on the website shown on the screen now. While fatalities were avoided, thanks in part to the swift response of the first aid team working in Stark Tower, Former General Ross, who has since been dishonourably discharged from the United States Military, failed to give any reason for his actions. It is believed that he wished to rid himself of Tony Stark, who has set himself against the disgraced General for many years, starting with the affair of the Hulk. Former General Thaddeus Ross has been sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole and has been ordered to compensate every person caught up in the chaos that resulted from his actions.’_

‘Interesting,’ Onilo remarked, sitting back. ‘So how long, precisely, is a life sentence?’

‘It depends,’ Rhodey said. ‘Life sentence just means they’re sitting in prison for the rest of their lives.’

‘How long do you guys live?’ Dila asked.

‘The human life expectancy for the United States is 78.74 years as calculated last year,’ FRIDAY answered.

‘That’s not very long,’ Alfal mused.

‘So how long do you live then?’ Pepper asked curiously.

‘Saiyans...’ Dila paused. ‘The average Saiyan lives about 300 years.’

Tony raised an eyebrow. ‘The _average_ Saiyan? I take it you’re a little older?’

The three Saiyans looked at each other.

‘We fought in space a fair bit more than others,’ Onilo said. ‘We came into contact with various elements that ended up decelerating our ageing. So, yes, we’re considerably older than 300.’

‘So...’ Happy hesitated. ‘Sorry, but exactly how old?’

‘Um...’ Dila hesitated herself. She and Onilo looked at Alfal.

‘It’s impossible to keep track when you live most of your life in the vacuum of space,’ he said. ‘It’s been a while. Long enough to make us ancient. That’s all I can really say.’

‘What happened to your planet then?’ Tony asked.

‘That’s a long story,’ Onilo said.

***

 **Wakanda**  
Shuri stepped out to greet her brother and the returned Dora. ‘What happened to you? I thought this was a diplomatic mission.’

‘It was,’ T’Challa said. ‘They presented us with three non-terrestrial warriors who’d been sent from another dimension to assist against an impending threat.’

‘Only three?’ Shuri asked as they walked into the palace.

‘Only three. When we expressed doubt, they offered the least powerful of the three to take us all on at once by herself.’

‘And she beat you all up.’

‘More than that.’ T’Challa nodded to one of the Dora.

The woman pulled out one of her weapons. The Dora were all armed with weapons constructed from vibranium. This particular weapon had been a staff, which was now bent in half. Shuri was sure her eyebrows hit her hairline. ‘She did that?’

‘With hardly any effort,’ T’Challa said. ‘After the fight, the leader showed me their ship. It’s made out of something called Saiyan Chrome.’ He frowned. ‘That particular metal is designed to withstand their power.’

Shuri inclined her head. ‘It is hardly surprising given that they crossed both space and dimensional barriers. But I presume, brother, from the look on your face that he said something else.’

‘He did indeed. He told me that a single fool can destroy even the mightiest of civilisations.’

And that clearly troubled him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did google the two charges I gave Ross.
> 
> Terrorism: The act of inciting terror for a political aim.
> 
> Treason: Betrayal against individuals owed allegiance.
> 
> Onilo warns T'Challa about fools as a nod to T'Challa's own foolish actions, and as a warning not to pay Cap any credit. It's also an indicator of what happened to the original Saiyan planet.


	4. Bruce's Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce comes back. Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy follow after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a bit late. My brother was doing something with our internet so we lost it for a couple of days.

**2018 – New York**  
‘You know,’ Tony said as he and Pepper walked through the park together, ‘they say it’s good luck if it rains on your wedding day.’

‘Come on, Tony!’ Pepper laughed. ‘You don’t believe that. It was sunny and clear on the day your parents got married. Remember you showed me all the old gossip articles that insisted they wouldn’t last two years because of it?’

Tony chuckled. ‘Tabloid people are funny.’

‘Oh, please!’ Pepper waved a hand. ‘They think I’m already pregnant.’

‘Pepper, they’ve thought you were pregnant since year 2 of being my PA.’

Pepper stopped, amusement dancing in her eyes and gestured to her very-flat belly. ‘Wow. I’ve got an eighteen-year-old in here.’

Tony threw his head back and laughed. He stepped back to her and wrapped an arm around her waist. ‘Boy or girl?’

‘What would a girl’s name be?’ Pepper asked.

‘Hm...Emiline. That was my mom’s middle name.’

‘I thought your mom was Maria Collins Carbonell?’

‘Yeah, that’s always been a bit funny,’ Tony said. ‘It was Maria Emiline Collins Carbonell. Her folks died when she was about 12 and she got adopted by an Italian couple who added their name to the end of hers.’

Pepper nodded. ‘Well, that answers why she had two last names.’ She grinned. ‘And a boy?’

‘See, that’s a tricky one,’ Tony said. ‘We can’t do what my dad did. He gave me one of his middle names.’

‘His middle name was Anthony? What was the other one?’

‘Walter.’

‘Well, if all else fails we can make one up.’

‘Super-Awesome Kid of Tony and Pepper Stark!’

‘We are not calling him Sakotaps.’

Tony grinned. ‘We could ask the Saiyans. I’m sure they have lots of names.’

‘Tony, did you notice that their names sound like puns of different kinds of vegetables?’

‘Dila sounds like dill and that’s a herb,’ Tony pointed out. ‘Then again, she did say that she changed it just for shits and giggles.’

Pepper rolled her eyes and then she spotted something past Tony. ‘Bruce’s back!’

Tony spun around. Sure enough, there was Bruce Banner, walking down the path and looking around. As soon as he saw Tony and Pepper he picked up his pace. Tony and Pepper walked ahead to meet him. Bruce pressed his lips together, clearly nervous. As soon as they were close enough, he said, ‘Sorry for running off like that.’

‘I don’t really blame you.’ Tony pulled Bruce into a hug. ‘Welcome back, buddy.’

Bruce suddenly relaxed and heaved a sigh as he hugged back.

When they stepped back again, Tony said, ‘So where’ve you been?’

‘Ah, long story,’ Bruce said. ‘Basically, some kind of intergalactic arena that Thor and I had to escape from. And Asgard was destroyed.’

‘Let me guess,’ Tony said. ‘By Thanos?’

Bruce looked surprised. ‘How do you know about Thanos?’

Tony nodded his head. ‘Come on. I’ll introduce you to some new friends of ours.’

***

Bruce was kind of amused.

Thor had wanted to go and get allies to help with the battle ahead, but it looked like they weren’t necessary. Tony and Pepper introduced him to Onilo, Alfal, and Dila – three people from another dimension who had been sent to their world _specifically_ to take out Thanos. And they had one of the best defences out there: apparently people from other dimensions weren’t affected by the Infinity Stones.

Vision had already tested it. ‘The Mind Stone,’ he said, ‘does not affect them at all. It doesn’t even seem to register their existence, despite the fact that I can very clearly see them before me.’

Thor had been quite determined that the Infinity Stones were what gave Thanos his immense power. If there was suddenly a way to neutralise them, it was a huge point in their favour. So Bruce had asked one question: why are there only three of you? That resulted in looking at the data collected on them in the two years they’d been here.

And it resulted in the Hulk wanting to test their strength himself.

That ended with Bruce and Hulk both learning what unstoppable force versus immovable object was really like.

And that settled it.

***

Tony was amused.

Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy beat Thanos to the Earth by about a day. ( _So that’s what happened to Peter Quill._ ) The files were then shown to them. Watching the reactions on the Guardians’ faces was worth anything else Tony had to put up with, because they were so damn funny – especially when he found out Gamora had been a croney of Thanos’s a long time ago (probably when she’d been an impressionable teenager).

In the meantime, Thor’s seer, Heimdall, had been staring at the three Saiyans. His eyes had seemed fixed in a permanent squint. The whole conversation, he had stared. The Saiyans noticed but they didn’t remark on it. Even the (very amusing) incident of Dila flattening Drax against the ground in less than a second without using her hands, had not broken the squint.

Then Thor turned. ‘Is something bothering you, my friend?’ he asked Heimdall.

Heimdall straightened up. ‘You three,’ he said. ‘You are Gods.’

There was a dead silence.

‘Oh, yeah,’ Onilo said. ‘Forgot to mention that.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The conversation at the start of the chapter was inspired by set pictures of Tony and Pepper, one showing Pepper holding her hands out about level with her abdomen. So I figure either she's got extremis back or she's pregnant...or they're talking about babies.
> 
> Oh, yay! I just developed more for the Holmes Estate here. (Shameless self-promotion: Next update on Monday)
> 
> Thanks to thebookworm90 for pointing out, in Chapter 1, that a dill is a herb and not a vegetable. I thought a dill was a vegetable that was shaped like a cross between an avocardo and an eggplant - I don't know why.
> 
> Yup. Onilo, Dila, and Alfal are the Saiyan Gods. So...who guessed?


	5. The Saiyan Gods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The invasion begins - starting in Wakanda.
> 
> There's a welcoming committee.
> 
> The alien army isn't the only one heading for Wakanda either.

Quill snorted in amusement. ‘You forgot to mention that you’re Gods?’

‘Well, it’s been a thousand-odd years since we were worshipped as Gods,’ Dila said. ‘We don’t tend to put too much emphasis on it outside of our own race anyway. Who cares if we’re the Gods of the Saiyans? I mean, really, does anybody else care that the Asgardians are the Gods of the Terran Ancient Norse culture?’

‘Not really,’ Rocket said.

‘Exactly,’ Dila said.

‘What are you the Gods of then?’ Tony asked.

‘I’m the God of Power,’ Onilo said. ‘Mostly because I’m the strongest. Alfal is the God of Healing,’ he gestured to Rhodey, ‘for obvious reasons. Dila is the Goddess of Life.’

‘Power, healing, and life?’ Bruce asked. ‘That’s a little limited, isn’t it?’

‘That’s all the Saiyan race were concerned with,’ Alfal said. ‘They were a very violent race, when left to their own devices. Truth be told, I think a God is really nothing more than a person or a group that is more powerful than the majority.’

Quill grinned. ‘I get it. Being the Saiyan Gods was an easy way to control a volitile population.’

Dila gave a wry smile. ‘It was dishonest and underhanded of us, but that’s what we were doing. Besides, Saiyans didn’t understand the word “God” in quite the same way you people do.’

‘So what was a God to them?’ Tony asked.

‘A God was the most powerful member of the race,’ Onilo said. ‘The one who could do things the other Saiyans couldn’t. And, later, anyone who didn’t seem to get any older no matter how many centuries passed.’

‘Oh, yeah,’ Rhodey said. ‘You said your ageing was decelerated.’

Alfal smirked. ‘We’re ageing at about 2% of the rate we should be.’

Quill didn’t even want to think about how old that made them.

‘Whoa.’ Tony nodded, as if amused.

‘All that cast aside,’ Gamora said, ‘are you certain you can take the Mad Titan? He leaves planets in ruin.’

‘Yes,’ Onilo said, ‘but they’re still there when he’s done.’

Quill was suddenly struck by the insinuation. ‘Um...what happened to your planet?’

‘It doesn’t exist anymore,’ Alfal said. ‘It was shattered when one of our own did the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen anybody do.’

***

 **Wakanda**  
The warning played, T’Challa and Shuri watching in horrified fascination.

‘Well?’ Shuri demanded.

‘Why Wakanda of all places?’ T’Challa asked.

‘Isn’t it obvious? To start with, this is the only place on earth where you can find vibranium – not to mention all the other plants and minerals that can only be found here. If he’s looking for an Infinity Stone, it is actually logical to think it maybe _under_ Wakanda.’ Shuri gestured to the screen. ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy have provided us a full dossier of what this Thanos character has done in the past. As mighty and proud as we are, we don’t stand a chance. We need those Saiyans.’

‘Our people will resist it,’ T’Challa said.

‘Then ask that they have the Saiyans on stand-by _just in case_ ,’ Shuri said. ‘But you realise any warriors we send at the Mad Titan will be lambs to the slaughter.’

T’Challa jammed his eyes shut. ‘Perhaps their being more technologically advanced than us will...encourage our people to accept their defence.’

Shuri nodded.

***

Hours later, a sleek silver ship descended over the royal palace. The people of Wakanda stared up in awe and disbelief as a ship, clearly superior to their own technology landed. Some were indignant that anyone dared be more advanced than themselves. They were the most technologically advanced race in the world! Others acknowledged that these people were from _another_ world, so it made sense for them to be more technologically advanced.

Onilo, Dila, and Alfal stepped out of the ship to greet the Wakandan Royal Family and the Dora Milaje.

‘You did not mention that you were Gods,’ T’Challa pointed out as a conversation starter.

‘The God of one people is not the God of another,’ Onilo said. ‘Besides the people who did revere us as Gods are all but extinct. It would be arrogant to point it out.’ He looked up. ‘You have two hours before Thanos’s forces arrive.’

‘You can see them?’ Shuri asked.

‘I can sense them,’ Onilo said.

‘We will begin moving out people then,’ T’Challa said.

‘Don’t bother,’ Dila said. ‘We will engage Thanos’s forces in the jungle.’

‘Aren’t they coming from above?’ T’Challa asked.

The three Saiyans smirked. ‘Yes.’

***

The first wave came.

Peter watched Alfal shoot into the air. He moved far too quickly for Peter to see what he did, but the result was that every single ship went flying into the surrounding jungle – very deeply into it. He’d heard that they wanted to keep the fight away from the major population zones, but he hadn’t thought they’d actually move them from these kind of areas by force. A fire started in the jungle, but within seconds of Alfal landing down there it was out.

‘The entire infantry,’ Gamora mused. ‘Within a second. I may have underestimated them.’

‘I think we all did.’ They all did to the point where they had decided to hover just outside the airspace of Wakanda to step in if they needed to. They’d expected to need to. Peter had doubts now. ‘Think they can take Thanos?’

‘I’m not sure,’ Gamora said. ‘But I’m less skeptical on the matter than I was before.’

‘They can,’ Mantis said.

They turned and looked at her.

‘They can sense his power, even now,’ Mantis told them. ‘And it pales in comparison to theirs. This is the end of the Mad Titan.’

***

 **Marabit, Kenya**  
Nat had picked up something stirring, so Steve had moved the group closer to Wakanda.

Then the aliens poured out of the sky. Steve had made the decision.

‘We’re going in.’

He had to save Bucky!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what, screw everything I heard about IW. I'm having fun with this!


	6. The Army

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alfal takes care of Thanos's army.

Alfal landed. He knew precisely where all the invaders were. He said nothing though as they collected themselves and grabbed their weapons. They came at him. Alfal stood there as they opened fire. The lasers hitting him could be compared to a Saiyan child’s first energy blast – weak and painless to the Saiyan recipent, but deadly to anyone else.

He waited as the smoke was thrown up.

The alien invaders thought him dead, of course.

‘Well, that’s taken care of that,’ one of them said. ‘Let’s get moving. Our Lord will not be impressed if we do not do our jobs.’

Alfal laughed, letting himself be heard. ‘I’m a Saiyan, bitches. You think that’s all it’s gonna take?’

The invaders spun around, eyes wide. The smoke cleared and Alfal stood there, hands on his hips. He waited. There was nothing. They just stared, aiming their firearms at him again. This time, though, they knew it would be entirely ineffectual. Well...most of them. One switched the settings on his gun and fired. Alfal lifted a hand. As he expected, it barely tingled.

‘I’m open to questions,’ he said.

‘You’re still alive,’ the leader (he assumed) hissed.

‘Yes,’ Alfal said.

‘How?’

‘Obviously, you’ve never encountered a warrior race before. You have to hit me a hell of a lot harder to hurt me.’

The idiot gave the order to attack. Alfal grinned and lifted a hand. The warmth of his energy moving up his arm was familiar, as was the light of the energy blast erupting from the palm of his hand and washing over all of the aliens standing directly in front of him. When the light cleared, there was nothing but a line of dirt and cleared jungle.

Alfal smirked and looked around at the others. ‘Next?’

Of course they opened fire on him.

***

 **Kenya-Wakanda Border**  
‘I thought there’d be guards,’ Wanda said softly.

‘Of course there aren’t,’ Natasha said. ‘They’re getting attacked from above. They’re not looking at the borders anymore. Anyone could go in. It just isn’t a good idea to go.’

They didn’t stop moving in though.

‘We need to get to the capitol,’ Steve said.

Natasha looked at him. She wasn’t sure why he’d grown the beard. It wasn’t like he didn’t have access to a razor – they’d all stuck together and Sam was clean shaven. She expected it was something to do with Tony. If he was trying to make anybody think he felt bad about whatever happened, he was doing a poor job of it. Growing a beard was a classic way to look like you were trying to evoke sympathy for how bad you allegedly felt.

Maybe he hoped the next time he saw Tony he was hoping the beard would make him feel bad...?

Even Tony wouldn’t fall for that.

Tony was an expert on feeling guilty for things. He knew what people did when they felt guilty, especially people with guilt complexes. You wanted Tony to think you felt bad about something, you talked about it – you vocalised the sort of feelings he was accustomed to feeling. You didn’t wear a beard and expect him to believe that you were feeling guilty.

If anything Tony would think you were trying out having a beard.

Pepper would be the one to side-eye you.

***

 **New York City, USA**  
Tony had sent several bugs in with the Saiyans so everyone else could watch what was happening. He didn’t expect he and the rest of the gang would be needed, but it never hurt to be sure. There was also a map of Wakanda, showing the Rogues’ movements, projected up off to the side.

They were still carrying Tony’s gear.

‘Okay,’ Carol said. ‘So, I’ll bite. Why are they running around with your gear, even after all this time? Do you think you don’t have tracking chips in it?’

‘Of course they do,’ Tony said. ‘These people are more accustomed to punching things until they go away. Look at what happened in Nigeria. No points for planning there. The idea that we could lose someone in a fight and need to track them down would never occur to Rogers.’

Rhodey chuckled. ‘And if you told them about it, Rogers would probably bitch about invasion of privacy or something. I mean, look how he reacted to spies keeping secrets.’

‘Well, they’re spies,’ Matt Murdock said. ‘Of course they’re keeping secrets. That’s the name of the game.’ 

‘A fact they seem to miss,’ Tony remarked.

‘But why go charging into Wakanda, of all places?’ Carol asked. ‘Are they trying to play the heroes? Seems weird they’d be that close.’

‘No, they were hanging close to it anyway,’ Tony said.

‘Why?’ Jessica Jones asked.

‘Because Rogers BBF is there,’ Tony explained. There was more than a hint of annoyance in his tone. ‘He didn’t want to wander too far away from him. He might need rescuing.’

Dr. Strange raised an eyebrow. ‘You’re not suggesting that Rogers is charging his team into a nation under attack to save a single man?’

‘Okay,’ Rhodey said.

‘Oh, my God!’

***

 **Wakanda**  
‘So why did you tell me to let them in?’ T’Challa asked, watching as the Rogues.

‘I want to give them a false sense of security before I start beating them up,’ Dila said. ‘As you can see, Alfal has the army well in hand, and Thanos will be no trouble for Onilo. We knew they were hanging around the borders of Wakanda so the minute this happened, of course they’d come charging in.’

‘Borders?’ Shuri asked.

‘Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda.’ Dila nodded her head. ‘Which is stupid, considering that you’ve only got the two spies speaking the languages of the regions and everyone except Wilson is white – which is _not_ the majority in those countries. Rogers was obviously paranoid that something would happen to Barnes so he stuck close – even though common sense says he’d blend in a lot better in Europe.’

‘Does the man possess any common sense?’ Shuri asked.

‘No.’

***

Alfal launched himself up into the air.

He didn’t know who these guys were, but he tore through their ships. Several of such exploded and took the other ships with them. At present, though, he was far more interested in what was going on near the north-western border of the country. Dila was already headed out.

And he hoped that was as much fun for her as this was for him.

***

Steve rushed through the Wakandan jungle.

He had to get to Bucky and save him. It’d be easier if he knew where he was going and didn’t have to rely on the others to find where he was going but they all ran for the capitol of Wakanda. There was suddenly a yell from above and two things happened, almost in the same instant. First, Steve saw Sam come flying down. His wings were disconnected from his back and he landed in the river.

It was deep enough for him to break the surface a moment before something hit Steve in the face hard enough to stop him in his tracks and send him flying back.

They were stopped.

Steve looked up to see a woman with long dark hair held in a ponytail levitating in mid-air, but positioned like she was sitting in a chair.

‘Entering a country without permission, or even a goddamn passport, boy, is called invasion.’


	7. One Woman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and his team are taken out by _one woman_.

‘Who are you?’ Steve demanded, getting up. ‘Sam, are you all right?’

Sam waved a hand and nodded.

‘I haven’t harmed him,’ the woman said. ‘I can control my strength, unlike certain other people I might mention.’ She unexpectedly sighed. ‘Stupid man.’ Suddenly the woman flicked a tail – a brown monkey tail that seemed attached to her hind end.

Scott abruptly returned to full size and dropped down from the tree she’d smashed him into.

He didn’t get up again. ‘Scott!’ Steve called.

‘He’s just unconscious,’ the woman said. ‘I’m not here to kill. I’m here to take prisoners.’

‘You won’t lock us up again!’ Wanda screamed.

Clint lifted his bow and arrow and fired. The arrow electrified as it flew through the air. Steve expected it to pierce her shoulder and immobilise her, allowing them to continue on. But then something positively insane happened. She lifted and hand and caught the arrow around the head. The electricity crackled around her hand.

‘Hm,’ she said. ‘That kinda tickles.’ She then drew the arrow, to Steve’s disbelief, over her shoulder and threw it back.

The arrow spun through the air and imbedded itself in _Clint’s_ shoulder.

The archer screamed and dropped. He was unconscious in a moment.

‘So who was next?’ she asked in mild interest.

Natasha had her guns out in a moment and fired. Steve didn’t know why she didn’t use her Widow Bites. The woman just smirked and moved her hands very quickly. At the end, she stood unharmed, hands clenched in front of her, and smirked. The woman opened her hands and the bullets fell from her hands. Nat froze for a moment and drew back slightly. ‘That’s impossible. No one catches bullets in their bare hands.’

‘You need to redefine the word impossible,’ the woman said.

Nat huffed and tucked her guns away. She charged and aimed a punch at the woman’s face. The woman lifted a single finger. Natasha’s fist was stopped dead in its tracks by that finger. Nat swung a left hook at her jaw. The finger moved and blocked that punch too. Nat tried punching again. The result was the same.

Steve watched in disbelief as Nat punched and kicked until she was panting for breath. But that one finger was always there to stop her. And it was the _one_ finger. The woman’s other hand had been shovelled into her pocket, and there it remained. Nat was looking more and more frustrated as her attempts were repeatedly stopped.

Wanda lifted her hands and the red wrapped around the woman’s wrist. She wouldn’t be able to move it now.

Nat smirked and swung.

The woman moved her hand, like Wanda hadn’t done anything.

‘What?’ Wanda demanded.

Nat growled and kept up her assault.

‘Don’t look so surprised, pretty-face,’ the woman said. ‘Your powers were granted to you by an Infinity Stone. The effects of an Infinity Stone are null and void on people like me.’  
Suddenly she moved her hand and Nat went flying back. Her body collided with a tree. Steve spun around. Natasha dropped bonelessly to the ground. Steve spun around again. Would he have to deal with this himself? Sam was out of the water, though. He’d grabbed what was left of his wings and was swinging them at the woman’s head.

_Yes!_

Before he made contact, though, Sam gave a yell and his feet were yanked from under him. Steve looked and saw her tail was wrapped around one of his legs and she was in the process of throwing him too. Like Nat and Scott, Sam went flying into a tree and was immediately knocked unconscious.

Wanda turned and started to run back they way they’d come.

‘Wanda!’ Steve called. Had he been wrong about her? Or had she just lost her nerve with her powers being rendered useless and everyone else being knocked out?

The woman spoke with a grin in her voice. ‘Excuse me.’

In the next instant she was in front of Wanda. How had she done that? Wasn’t it Wanda’s late brother, Pietro, who was capable of super-speed? Wanda yelped and threw a burst of red mist at her. It just washed over the woman and caused nothing to happen. The woman reached out and grabbed her hands. She held them firmly even as Wanda, half-sobbing, tried to pull away. Her red power spurted from her hands ineffectually.

‘What did I just say?’ the woman asked, unmoved.

‘Let her go!’ Steve demanded. ‘She’s just a kid!’

The woman snorted. ‘I raised kids, and I trained this kind of behaviour and entitlement out of them from a young age. This is not a kid.’ She smirked at him. ‘Unless, you’re admitting to bringing a _child_ onto the battlefield? As far as I understood it, that was highly immoral. Are you using a child soldier?’

‘Of course not!’ Steve snapped, horrified.

‘Glad we agree!’ She smiled brightly and then frowned at Wanda who was still trying to free herself and shooting out her powers. ‘If you don’t stop that, pretty-face, I’m gonna have to break your hands.’

Steve shot forward and aimed a punch at the woman’s face. With both her hands occupied the punch hit, but she didn’t react at all. He might as well have not hit her. When he lowered his fist, there wasn’t even so much as a red mark on her cheek. She looked at him in ill-concealed amusement. ‘Cute,’ she said.

Suddenly something wrapped around his ankle and in the next instant Steve felt himself being thrown across the air. He hit a tree hard enough to knock it down. He heard screaming and yelling – all in Wanda’s voice – but he couldn’t make out the words. As he pushed the three off himself, he finally heard the other woman speak.

‘Well, if you’re going to go about threatening the people coming to bring you in...’ Her hands seemed to tighten around Wanda’s

Wanda let out a high-pitched scream of agony. The woman pulled a face and then knocked her forehead against Wanda’s. As Wanda fell, unconscious, the woman released her now-bloody hands. She turned to Steve and smirked. She lifted a hand and gestured, inviting him to attack her.

Steve charged. The sooner he got past this woman, the soon he could get to Bucky! The others would probably require another rescue but he could handle that.

The last thing Steve saw before his world went black was a fist coming at his face.

***

 **New York, USA**  
Tony hung up and chuckled.

‘What?’ Rhodey asked.

‘They’ve picked the Rogues up,’ Tony said. ‘Apparently, Rogers woke up three times while they were waiting and tried to attack Dila all three times. She said she’d amazed he stayed alive long enough to get injected with reasoning skills like that.’

There were snorts of amusement all around.

‘Dila actually became concerned that Wanda would hurt the people that were sent to pick them up, so she broke her hands.’

There was a collective wince amongst those present.

Carol sighed. ‘Nasty but, as much as it pains me to say it, logical. Wanda’s past behaviour has shown she’ll use her powers with both violence and disregard for the well-being of the people she’s attacking. I’m guessing that’s the worst thing Dila did to them.’

Tony nodded. ‘Well, she did throw Barton’s taser-arrow back at him, but he shot first. And she made sure Wilson landed safely when she tore the wings off of his back.’

‘So the Rogue Avengers are, in fact, in custody as we speak?’ Dr. Strange asked.

‘Yes,’ Tony said. ‘And Gamora has already picked out where Thanos is coming through. The area has already been cleared and Onilo is waitig for him.’

‘She can tell?’ Bruce asked.

‘She was trained by him. She knows him.’

***

 **Wakanda**  
No sooner had Thanos stepped through the portal, than did he find his cohort blasted into oblivion.

Thanos found himself alone facing a humanoid man with black hair and onyx eyes. The city around them was very much in tact. Thanos looked around with a displeased twist of his lips. A chuckle from the man, who’d clearly been responsible for the destruction of his entourage, drew his attention.

‘You’re probably wondering where your armies are,’ he said. ‘Well, allow me to show you.’

Thanos had people attempt to punch him before. They were always barely a blip on his radar. This man, though, was a whole different matter. He moved faster than any Thanos had seen before and when he punched him he punched hard. He punched with enough force to sent the Mad Titan flying straight up into the air. Then he leapt up after him and punched him again – hard enough to send him flying into the jungle surrounding this Terran city.

***

 **Peter Quill’s Ship**  
The Guardians of the Galaxy had watched Onilo punch Thanos into the air and then into the jungle. They all stared. Only Mantis stood there with any expectation of what she had seen. Gamora stared in amazement and awe, as did Drax, Rocket, and Groot. Peter was watching in disbelief and only he managed to vocalise what all six of them were thinking at the moment when the Mad Titan vanished.

‘Haw.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure how Thanos came in in IW, but here he uses a portal.


	8. God of Power vs. The Mad Titan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Onilo vs. Thanos.

Thanos was on his feet in an instant.

The man was already standing opposite him. He smirked and rolled his neck. ‘I know the whole point of this visit is to kill everybody but I’d prefer not to fight you in a major population zone, thank you very much.’

Thanos curled his lip. Another one of these do-gooder wanna-be-world-savers that always stood against him. He’d go the same way the rest of them did. Thanos slowly straighted up and lifted his hand with the Infinity Gaultlet upon it. This was usually when his enemies started getting nervous. This one, however, observed with a level of mild interest.

Thanos sneered and fired.

The energy from the two stones he had was not as powerful as they would be, but it was enough to kill anyone. The bi-coloured beam, shot across and hit the fool square in the chest. But he did not react. Instead, he stood there and watched the energy hit the centre of his chest. After a moment, Thanos cut off the power.

The man looked at him, eyes glittering in amusement. ‘Are you aware I couldn’t feel that?’

Thanos snarled. ‘That’s impossible. Everyone is susceptible to the power of the Infinity Stones.’

‘You’re almost right,’ the man said. ‘But, as it so happens, the Infinity Stones have one very fatal weakness. When used against beings from other dimensions, they might as well not be there at all.’

‘Other dimensions?’ Thanos narrowed his eyes. He didn’t know if it was true – he’d never encountered a being from another dimension before – but it would give an explanation as to why the Infinity Stones did not work on this man. ‘Who are you?’

‘My name,’ the man said, ‘is Onilo. My friends and I were sent here for the sole purpose of stopping you from destroying this planet.’

They could certainly try! But the Infinity Stones were not the only powers Thanos possessed. ‘Why this planet?’

‘A simple fact in that this planet, or a variation of it, exists in every dimension across all of reality,’ Onilo stated. ‘There are only a few planets across the universe that fall into this state of being, and these planets are critically important.Every single version of them holds reality itself together. Due to this, several guardians of several planets have made the decree that such planets are to be protected at all costs.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘The price we had to pay to cross dimensions was minute compared to some other prices we’ve had to pay.’

‘So you come to stop me on orders from higher entities?’ Thanos asked.

‘But, of course.’

Thanos stared at him. For some reason, he believed him. This man had come to kill him, and he might legitimately be able to do it. All because he’d attacked some primitive world that turned out to be critically important. Higher beings would not send someone who was not capable of the task. Like his dear Death, they would know precisely who was capable of what. This man must’ve been more powerful than he appeared.

‘Then let us begin,’ Thanos said, preparing for battle and hoping he wouldn’t be disappointed.

Onilo inclined his head. ‘You want to die, don’t you? For what reason?’

Thanos smirked. Reasonable question. ‘My reasons pertain to the personification of all death in the universe. With her affection I destroy entire people as a gift to her.’

Onilo studied him again. ‘So...you killing millions and millions of people is your version of sending flowers to win the love of a woman?’

Thanos sneered. ‘She is more than a mere woman.’

Onilo gave him a strange look. ‘Right...’ He shifted. ‘Well, then. Shall we begin?’

‘Please.’

Onilo was suddenly there and he drove his fist into Thanos’s solar plexus, breaking through his armour. A sharp spike of pain which seemed to hit all of his nerve endings all but paralysed Thanos, causing him to scream. A metallic taste wasted over his tongue. Blindly, Thanos swung out, aiming for Onilo.

The extra-dimensional man moved.

A ripping pain took a hold of Thanos’s arm.

For a moment, there was nothing. Thanos found himself on the jungle floor, braced on one hand. His peripheral vision caught something and he looked. His right arm was no more than a stump to the elbow, dripping blood which quickly soaked into the jungle floor. Thanos looked up at Onilo. The man held his arm, and was extracting the Infinity Gaultlet from it.

‘Sorry about the arm, mate,’ Onilo said. ‘Reflex. But it’s not like you’re gonna need it.’ He chucked the arm behind him. ‘Will you be wanting me to end this now, or would you like to try some more?’

‘You...ripped...my...arm...off...’

‘Yes.’ Onilo dropped the Gauntlet and lifted a hand. ‘So we’re going for “end this now”?’

‘Who sent you?’ Thanos growled.

‘The Kais,’ Onilo said. ‘They’re a race of deities, to be honest. The Supreme Kai had a conversation with the Watchers, who watch over this universe.’

‘The Watchers do not interfere,’ Thanos stated, voice strained.

‘Yeah, well, you were disturbing the balance of this universe,’ Onilo said. ‘There’s an exception to every rule.’ A bright glow began to form in the palm of his hand. ‘Let’s just say that I don’t think Death is very impressed with you, so don’t expect your encounter to be a pleasant one.’

Before Thanos could even begin to comprehend what he meant, a bright white light rushed over him, burning hot. It was over in an instant thought. When the light cleared and the smoke settled, the Mad Titan was gone forever. Onilo picked up the Gauntlet and launched himself into the air. He flew up through the atmosphere.

Breaching through the upper atmosphere, he saw the fleet.

It was a common theory that Saiyans couldn’t breathe in space. That was true. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t _fight_ in space. Just below their lungs, there was a little pocket that could hold air for them to breathe if they found themselves deprived of oxygen for whatever reason. It was through the use of this that Onilo flew up into space and hovered before the fleet.

He raised the Infinity Gauntlet so they could all see it.

Waiting a sufficient time for them to see, realise the implications, and start panicking (or entering denial) Onilo let out a blast that reduced the entire fleet to ash.

He dropped back down to Earth.

***

T’Challa watched the chopper fly off with the Rogue Avengers inside.

Someone had suggested giving Wanda some Wakandan tea to heal her hands once the collar was on. But, truth be told, it was said more out of obligation to appear benevolent rather than any desire to help her. Dila’s explanation for breaking her hands was satisfactory to all involved, even if some did wonder if she went too far.

Wanda Maximoff was known for attacking when she felt threatened, either geniuinely or from the consequences of her own actions. She had thrown Vision through several floors of concrete, when she had claimed to like him, because she personally felt he was keeping her locked up – in a penthouse, with all modern anemities, food, water, and whatever else she wanted. That was not even mentioning the horror of what she’d done to the baseline guards at the Raft who were just doing their jobs.

Yes, experience showed that Wanda had no scruples when it came to her powers.

So, most of Wakanda had reasoned, what better way of keeping her under control than disabling the means in which she used her powers – her hands.

She wouldn’t be able to wiggle her fingers for months.

Wakanda’s capitol, while the area that was attacked, had suffered no damage from the battle. Rather, the jungle had gotten all the heat. Several citizens were concerned about the damage that might have been done to the wildlife, but that paled in comparison to the relief and gratitude they felt in the fact that the Saiyans had intentionally moved the fight away from the civilian populations.

T’Challa and Shuri were now watching as Onilo landed and gave the Guardians of the Galaxy the Infinity Stones that had been housed in the Infinity Gauntlet.

‘What are they doing with the Gauntlet?’ Shuri asked.

‘It’s still up for debate,’ T’Challa said. ‘It’s to be discussed at the UN, but the idea is to leave the Gauntlet on Earth, where most people won’t think to look for it. The Guardians want Thanos’s destruction to be somewhat of a mystery as a deterrent for others who might seek to follow in his footsteps.’

‘Won’t that be difficult?’ Shuri asked. ‘Didn’t they all know Thanos was heading here? That’s how the Asgardians and the Guardians got here before he did?’

‘Yes, I did ask about that,’ T’Challa said. ‘Mr. Quill explained that a large group of people have actually come together for the deception. It’s much like the carrot tactic the British allies used in World War II to trick the German side into not finding out that they had radar.’

‘You mean that carrots improve eyesight?’ Shuri asked in amusement. ‘They had nearly the whole world believing that.’

‘And much the same thing is going to be happening out in the Galaxy,’ T’Challa said. ‘The Guardians have told me that they will be spreading the story that Thanos and his forces never arrived to Earth – and there’s certainly nothing to suggest he did.’

***

 **New York, USA**  
Tony had said he’d laugh if the Saiyans forcibly moved the fight to an uninhabited area.

He did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The "Saiyans can't breathe in space" thing comes up an awful lot (and logically nothing can), but they can hold their breaths for an awfully long time. It's either a huge lung capacity or some extra organ working for them - or both. :)


	9. The Rogue Avengers - Alfal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alfal begins. He wants a word with Scott and Wanda.

Scott had woken up in a cell.

After being knocked out, he wasn’t surprised. He still couldn’t work out how that woman had seen him though. The lawyer came very soon afterwards. Scott was expecting the charge for breaking parole. The rest of the charges threw him for a loop though. _Illegal entry into a country. Property damage. Endangering human life._

As the lawyer explained that, yes, he entered Germany without a passport and, no, “Captain America called” was not a defence. He was then shown the footage of the fight in the airport and Scott couldn’t deny it. He’d taken a plane and ripped the wing off, and he’d endagered _everyone_ there with his Giant Man stunt – most especially Col. James Rhodes. It also really should have been obvious that he’d potentially nearly killed Tony Stark with that stunt of going tiny and ripping out the wires.

The inner engineer in him was kicking himself.

After the lawyer left, a man came in. ‘My name is Alfal,’ he said. ‘I was one of the guys who took out the invasion.’

Yeah, that hadn’t been nice to find out. That attack had been an invasion that had been handled with next to no effort by two people, while the third had waited on them.

‘How’d you know we’d be there?’ Scott asked.

‘Oh, everyone knew where you were,’ Alfal said. ‘They were just all thinking of Bucharest. That’s why nobody engaged.’ He folded his arms. ‘So, out of interest, why did you hang around those particular African nations?’

Scott sighed. He’d wondered that too. It’d seemed foolish. But Steve, Natasha, and Wanda were determined they hadn’t been found and they wouldn’t be. The fact that they were afraid of Bucharest happening again made more sense than no one noticing a specific bunch of white people in African nations (excepting Sam, of course).

Scott had found himself with a lot of free time, so he had seen the pictures and the casualty reports on Bucharest. He’d only been comfortable enough to ask Sam about them. The others...he didn’t know, but Wanda and Clint both seemed to rage 99% of the time. Steve had this...weird way about him. It was almost like he was trying to be the father-figure for all of them. Natasha was weird. She never showed any emotion. You expected that in machines, not people. It’d unnerved him.

Sam had said Bucharest was Ross’s people trying to kill Steve’s friend Bucky and they reacted how they had to.

Scott had wondered about the story because he’d seen the pictures of the taskforce members – he was sure their uniforms weren’t American.

‘Steve said we had to stay near Wakanda for Bucky.’

‘Is that all?’ Alfal asked. ‘Wakanda is a nation steeped in traditon and honour. They said they would help Barnes and protect him. Did Steve not trust that?’

‘I suppose he didn’t,’ Scott admitted. ‘But he didn’t seem to know a lot about the modern world.’

‘Yes, we heard about his list,’ Alfal said. ‘Did he spend any time trying to learn about this century? Any time that you were hiding trying to work out what he had listed?’

‘I don’t know.’

Alfal nodded. ‘One more question. What did Steve tell you about Siberia?’

‘He said Stark came to haul them in and then went nuts and tried to kill them when they wouldn’t come in,’ Scott said. It fit right in with what Hank always said.

‘Really?’ Alfal cocked his eyebrow. ‘Well, he was certainly counting on you not knowing Tony Stark at all, wasn’t he?’ He walked over and knocked on the door. ‘Show him the videos, boys!’

The TV in the cell block flicked on and Scott watched in horror as a very different scenario was shown to him. It was clearly CCTV footage, but it showed that Stark had actually come in to help Steve and Bucky, watching a video, and then looking at Bucky. He took a step towards him, at which point Steve stopped him with the statement “it wasn’t him”.  
Whatever Stark had just seen had to be traumatic because Stark asked, in a choked-up voice, “did you know”. Steve denied it at first. When Stark didn’t buy it, clearly angry at the attempt, Steve admitted he did know. Stark drew back and looked down for a moment, then he smacked Steve across the face. Bucky turned the gun to Stark, and the fight started like that.

It ended with two super-soldiers beating a baseline human in a suit of armour to a bloody pulp and then just leaving him behind – in a Siberian HYDRA base. It was a miracle that Tony had gotten out. Then Scott was shown the video that Tony saw – his parents being murdered, brutally and in cold blood, by the Winter Soldier.

The way Steve had told the story, Bucky and he had been the victims.

But that had been a lie.

The entire Stark family were.

Scott lurched for the cell sink and emptied the contents of his stomach as Alfal walked out.

***

Wanda stared at her plastered hands.

It wasn’t fair! The nasty woman had broken her hands for no reason! It hurt and now she was back in here with this awful collar on again! Stark was responsible for this! Pietro was right. She should have killed him when she had the chance! She’d get him! She’d get out of this and rip him apart slowly.

The door opened and Wanda ignored whoever was coming in.

‘Will you look at me?’ the person asked.

Wanda continued to ignore him.

‘If you don’t stop acting like a petulant brat, I’m going to administer a bit of turnabout.’

‘Petulant brat?!’ Wanda exploded glaring up at him.

‘Oh, I have your attention?’ The dark-eyed man smirked. ‘Good. Now...’ He plopped down in the chair by her bedside and flicked a leg over the other. ‘As I understand it, your parents died as collateral damage in a civil war. You and your brother were orphaned and trapped in the building and decided to blame the guy whose name was on the first bomb you saw.’

‘Collateral damage?!’ Wanda screeched. ‘You talk like it’s an accident! Tony Stark killed my parents!’

‘Why?’

‘What?’ Wanda was taken aback, surprised by the question.

The man pulled out an iPad. ‘According to the research we’ve done, your father was a manual labourer and your mother was a shop assistant.’ He looked up at her and cocked an eyebrow. ‘What reason could Tony Stark have for wanting them dead?’

Wanda opened and shut her mouth a few times, seeking a reason – any reason! There had to be one! ‘Well, I don’t know!’

‘That’s because you never concerned yourself with a question that could take away your scapegoat,’ the man said. ‘People die in war, it’s a fact of life. Rather than blame the one who shot the weapon, you blame the guy who was only remotely related to your own personal tragedy.’

It was the first time anyone had ever suggested that Stark _wasn’t_ to blame.

Wanda was incensed. ‘He killed my parents! He killed my brother!’

Alfal arrested her with the most sceptical look she’d ever seen. He manipulated the iPad and then turned it around. ‘Would this be the sequence of events from this time?’ He hit play and Wanda could see herself very clearly sneaking up behind Tony, manipulating his mind and stepping back into the shadows with a wide smile.

‘That’s slapped all over the internet right now. I mean just look at the comments section!’ He scolled down and showed her. Against her better judgement, Wanda’s eyes took in the words.

_Wait! So she did it to Tony too?_

_Hey, did you see the timestamp? Isn’t this like right before Ultron happened? Do you think she did that on purpose?_

> _Yeah, I do actually. No way that was an accident._

‘I didn’t create Ultron!’ Wanda yelled.

‘Let’s think about that, shall we?’ the man said, turning the iPad around again. ‘As one person points out, Tony had been making AIs since he was 17, and not a single one of them went crazy like Ultron did. And they find out not 24 hours before Ultron activated, you manipulated Tony’s mind with a slasher smile on your face. You can _claim_ you had nothing to do with it all you like, but no one will believe you.’ He gave her a malicious smile. ‘And if you’re responsible for Ultron, you’re also responsible for your brother’s death, aren’t you?’

Wanda tried to move her hands, on reflex, to knock him off his feet. Her arms were still tied down though, and the collar pushed her powers right back down. The man nodded knowingly.

‘It wouldn’t have worked anyway,’ he said. ‘As Dila told you, your powers come from an Infinity Stone. The Infinity Stones do not effect those from other dimensions as we are. It won’t make a difference anyway. You were a guest of this country. Much like a house guest, bad grace tends to get you kicked out. You will be deported back to your home country where you will stand trial. Were I you, I’d stop playing the blame game. It won’t earn you any points and you have a very real possibilty of being executed for your crimes. I know for a fact that you didn’t listen to the lawyer that came in earlier so let me repeat.’

Wanda drew back as he was suddenly in her face so she had to look him in the eye.

‘Membership in a terrorist organisation, aiding and abetting a terrorist organisation, treason, murder, attempted murder, mental assault resulting in vegetation, non-compliance with the law, fraud, theft, illegal entry into a country, property damage, prison break, assault upon officers of the law, murder of officers of the law. And don’t bother thinking about getting your powers back. Those are going to be stripped before you go.’

‘You can’t do that!’ Wanda screamed.

‘ _I’m_ not,’ the man said. ‘The most I can do is this.’ Then he laid a hand on her head. Wanda wasn’t sure what happened but he stepped back with a bitter smile. ‘Thank you, ma’am. That’s what I wanted to know.’

‘What?’ Wanda demanded.

The man walked out.

‘What?’ Wanda demanded, more shrilly.

_Did he just read my mind? Without my permission?!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As seen in the Namek Saga of DBZ, when a Saiyan reaches a certain level, they gain the ability to read minds by touching a person's head. Alfal read Wanda's mind to find out what she believed about what happened in Siberia, rather than risk letting her find out if she didn't know. (He thinks she'd get satisfaction out of knowing it if she doesn't already.)
> 
> And, yes, Wanda's hypocrisy at the end is entirely intentional - on my part.


	10. The Rogue Avengers - Dila

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Dila's turn.

_Illegal entry into a country._

_Property damage._

_Accessory to manslaughter._

_Accessory to resisting arrest._

_Resisting arrest._

_Prison break._

_Accessory to assault._

_Accessory to murder._

Sam sat in his cell, trying to work out how everything had gone so wrong.

The lawyer had explained the reasons for all of the charges. Sam found himself wondering as he sat in his cell, a list of victims in the Bucharest tunnel collapse they’d caused in his hands. Men, women, and children – people who had nothing whatsoever to do with them had been killed, crippled, or otherwise injured because they happened to be there.

Sam had honestly believed they were doing the right thing.

Looking at a picture of a little boy who’d been killed in the tunnel collapse though...he wasn’t so sure. This kid wouldn’t have had the faintest idea what was going on when he’d died. And why had he died? Because someone had been chasing down Bucky. But...did they really need to rip up that tunnel?

Sam looked up as the door to the cell block was opened and the woman from before was let in.

‘I suppose,’ she said, ‘it wouldn’t be egotistical of me to ask that you know who I am.’

Sam scowled. ‘I suppose you came down here to gloat.’

‘Far from it, actually,’ she said. ‘There’s a few things I want to know. First of all, why did you follow Steve Rogers?’

Sam was suddenly wary. ‘What do you mean?’

‘You followed Steve Rogers. You went around acting like his word was gospel; like he was the second coming of Christ. Everything he said needed to be done, you did. Why?’

‘Have you even heard of Captain America?’ Sam asked sceptically.

‘Oh, the legend!’ She clicked and chuckled. ‘Ha, ha, ha. I see. The idea that he’s the paragon all your American values: truth, justice, and the American Way. The idea that he’s the perfect soldier. All very inspiring stuff, but there’s one problem: it’s just a legend. Do you have any idea how far from the truth legends can get?’

Sam was frozen, unsure where this was going.

The woman folded her hands on top of her head. ‘My people are called the Saiyans. We have a werewolf-slash-King-Kong sort of thing going on. We call it the Ape Form. Back home there’s a legend about something called a Super Saiyan. It’s said to be a rare thing. They say that the last one existed 1000 years ago and he could only access his power during the full moon. But his power was so great he destroyed the original home world.’

‘You’re an alien?’ Sam asked.

‘Duh!’ the woman rolled her eyes. ‘Did you hear what I said? Repeat it back.’

Sam winced. With that question, it was perfectly understandable she’d think he hadn’t listened to a word she’d said. ‘You have a legend of a Super Saiyan which hasn’t existed in 1000 years. He could only access his full power during the full moon, but he had so much power he destroyed your planet.’

‘Do you know how much of that is actually true?’ she asked.

Sam slowly shook his head.

‘The planet got destroyed by an idiot,’ she said. ‘That is all. The Super Saiyan was not a rare transformation. A Saiyan got to a certain level of power, had an intense emotional experience and then – bang! – they were a Super Saiyan. We had an army of the guys. The one who went ape in Super Saiyan form and destroyed the planet? You know what he was trying to do? Overthrow the world leaders by making himself stronger than them. See? Very little truth in the legend. So, ask yourself this: how much truth is in the Captain America legend?’

Sam’s jaw worked as he tried to come up with some response to that.

The woman stepped back and drew his attention again. ‘There’s one more thing. What do you believe happened in Siberia?’

‘What do I _believe_?’ Sam asked, still somewhat stunned.

‘Simple question: what do you believe happened?’

Sam wasn’t sure why she asked this question. ‘...Steve told us that Tony came to take them in after he lied to me, but they wouldn’t go so he went nuts and attacked them.’

The woman gave him the most sceptical look he’d ever seen. ‘And nothing about the Winter Soldiers? You didn’t even ask?’

Sam averted his eyes as that sunk in. Steve _had_ said nothing about the other Winter Soldiers. He _hadn’t_ even asked. He’d just assumed they’d killed them at some point. But still, Tony had lied to him and...Sam’s attention was pulled back to the woman by her clicking her tongue in reprimand.

‘Silly boy,’ she said, turning. She walked out and said. ‘Show him the tapes, lads.’

The TV screen outside Sam’s cell flicked on. He watched in horror as the woman’s point was driven home. Tony had never lied. Steve had. Steve had made it seem like Tony had gone nuts for no reason, but now he saw that Tony had a reason. Tony had a very good reason. And Steve had only made the situation worse by trying to fight back like that.

_What the hell?!_

***

Clint sat in his cell, arms folded and glaring at the wall.

He turned his head as the door opened and that damn woman walked in – the one that hadn’t been hurt by electricity; who’d pulled them in. Clint glared at her. She seemed unmoved as she walked in with her hands in her pockets and stood outside his cell. ‘Come to gloat?’ he demanded harshly.

‘Nope.’ She popped the “p” at the end. ‘I’m here, angry man, to find out what you think happened in Siberia.’

‘What’s to tell?’ Clint demanded. ‘Tony attacked Steve and Bucky for no reason. And now we’re locked up. Like Tony locked Wanda up!’

‘Tony advised Wanda to stay indoors and keep her head down for a while because the public was raging against her, you twit. You, right now though, are locked up because of the charges against you,’ the woman said. ‘Or weren’t you listening to your lawyer just before? He was in here five minutes before I walked in. You’re on trial for trespass, assault illegal entry into a country, two counts of property damage, reckless endangerment, accessory to assault—’

Clint tried to interrupt her. ‘That’s—’

‘Prison break,’ she kept on going, ‘assault, and accessory to murder.’ Her eyes narrowed. ‘Seeing as “prison break” is in there, you are a flight risk. So in this cell, you will stay.’

‘Ross was trying to make us into government attack dogs!’ Clint snapped.

‘Ross wasn’t trying to do anything to you,’ the woman said. ‘You were retired.’ She cocked her head. ‘So why did you come out of retirement anyway? Was being home with your wife and kids really so boring?’

Clint blanched. The truth was...it had. He’d been so bored and frustrated at home.

‘Uh huh. It was.’

‘My wife knew what she was getting into when she married me!’ Clint snapped.

‘So your job and your lifestyle have become an umbrella excuse then?’ the woman asked. ‘It justifies everything?’ She turned her eyes away. ‘Kind of makes me pity your family, really.’ She walked towards the door. ‘It’ll come out in the trials.’ She stopped at the door and looked back at him. ‘You wife may very well put up with it for the rest of her life, but don’t go counting on your kids to do the same.’

She walked out before Clint could say anything.

_Umbrella excuse?_

***

‘So we’ve confirmed it?’ Onilo asked. ‘Rogers lied to all of them.’

‘Yes.’ Dila and Alfal answered almost at the same time. ‘Yeah.’

‘Romanoff would be the only one who could know the truth,’ Hill stated. She was scanning through an iPad. ‘She was with him around the time he found out. She even gave him a file on the Winter Soldier.’ She shook her head. ‘It’s in Romanoff’s psychology to keep the information to herself for her own personal gain. She may have thought she could use it to her advantage at a later point.’

‘If so,’ Onilo said, ‘I’ll find out.’

‘Are you sure?’ Hill asked. ‘She’s been taught to manipulate all kinds of people from a very young age.’

‘So everything that comes out of her mouth is a calculated manipulation.’ Onilo nodded. ‘Don’t worry. I’ve dealt with people like her before.’

Hill raised an eyebrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Saiyan leaders Dila speaks of, yes, were herself, Onilo, and Alfal.


	11. The Rogue Avengers - Onilo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Onilo goes in to confront Natasha and Steve.

Natasha looked up as the door opened. Her ankles and wrists had been cuffed before she’d been walked to the interrogation room. The man who walked in looked like the woman who’d beaten the shit out of them (in the most humiliating way she’d ever experienced), but only in the way two Koreans or two Africans could look like each other. They were part of the same race, but that was it.

It didn’t take much to work out they were aliens.

The man sat down.

‘Who are you?’ Natasha asked.

‘Onilo,’ he said.

‘What am I in here for?’

Onilo cocked an eyebrow. ‘You realise you’re the one getting interrogated, right? Don’t bother asking questions. I won’t answer them.’ He sat down and kicked his feet up onto the interrogation table. ‘I’m also aware of the fact that you knew Howard and Maria Stark were victims of the Winter Soldier.’

So that was what happened in Siberia. Natasha had thought so. It all added up. Steve’s story about Tony “going nuts and attacking” was not part of his character. And Zemo had played a very long game. She knew there was more than that file incriminating Bucky in their murder – there had to be. Tony must’ve found out in the bunker. It annoyed her slightly that someone else had beaten her to using it.

That was one less thing she could manipulate Tony with.

Natasha was startled as Onilo made a sound in his throat and nodded. ‘Yeah, we thought so.’

How had he read that? Natasha had an excellent poker face! Unless...his species could read minds. That was possible. If so, it meant she had to control her thoughts to the point of her external cues. Natasha kept her thoughts carefully blank as she studied the man in front of her. He looked stronger than the woman. But she didn’t look very strong. That was more that he had clear muscles and she hadn’t.

‘Incredible,’ he said. ‘I wonder what makes such narcissim.’

It took Natasha a moment to realise he was talking about her. ‘Excuse me?’

Onilo took out a iPad of some kind – a strange looking one. ‘Uh, FRIDAY? Do you mind?’

The television screen in the room flicked on.

‘I heard you accused Tony of textbook narcissim. I’ve been living with the man for two years, and I haven’t seen it. Looking over everything about you on record though, I think you maybe projecting.’ He lifted the iPad. ‘This, here, is the symptoms of narcissm. Let’s start with the first point, shall we? Exaggerates own importance?’

A clip of her finishing statement at the senate hearing on the data dump was shown on the screen.

Onilo cocked his head. ‘You’re a former Russian spy and assassin, technically illegally on American soil, who compromised the American intelligence community – all of it. And you say you’re too valuable for them to lose? Yup. You’re definitely exaggerating your own importance. What exactly have you done that shows you’re this important?’

‘What about Tony?’ Natasha pointed out. ‘What has he ever done to show his importance?’

Onilo gave her a particular smirk. It was the smirk of a man who knew he had won. It rankled. He looked down at the iPad. ‘Well, I suppose you’re not trained to notice the economy.’ He seemed to select something else. ‘Has unreasonable expectations of favourable treatment and takes advantage of others to reach his or her own goals.’ He looked up at the screen.

Natasha watched a security footage montage of her strongarming, guilting, or otherwise manipulating Tony into making things for her or doing things for her. She knew she did it a lot but she had no idea just how many of these instances had been recorded on film.

Onilo clicked his tongue in disapproval. ‘I suppose that also covers “disregards the feelings of others” and “lacks empathy”, huh?’ He looked at the iPad again. ‘Is envious of others or thinks others are envious of them?’

Another clip was played, this one showing Natasha explaining to Wanda that the reason people hated people like them was because they were so much better; they had something those people didn’t have.

‘You ever think they might hate you because you terrify them?’ Onilo suggested. ‘What’s the last one you’ve displayed? Oh, yes. Displays arrogant attitudes and behaviours.’ He looked up at her. ‘That’s basically everything we’ve just watched.’ He stood up. ‘You’ve given me what I wanted to know and I’ve put in my two cents. Tony isn’t the narcisst, honey. _You are_.’

He walked out of the room, leaving Natasha no more wiser on him than before.

_...What just happened?_

***

Steve looked over and stood up as the door opened and a man, who resembled the other woman, stepped in.

‘Where’s Bucky?’ Steve demanded.

‘Relax,’ the man said. ‘He never knew anything happened. Wakanda is a nation steeped in honour, not that you’d know much about that. They kept their word. Your friend came to no harm.’

Steve couldn’t be sure he was telling the truth. ‘Who are you?’

‘Onilo,’ the man said. ‘And the woman that beat you up – that was Dila. I’m the guy that took out the intergalactic tyrant.’

‘What...intergalactic tyrant...?’ There’d been a threat, a chance to prove to the world they were still needed, and Steve hadn’t known about it?

‘The one who owned the armada Tony saw when he went through the portal in New York,’ Onilo said. ‘The one he warned was coming – a warning which you all ignored. Poor guy – all that time trying to prepare for an invasion only he took seriously. I guess that’s why we were sent here, specifically, to stop it.’

Steve set his jaw. ‘Tony created Ultron.’

Onilo scoffed. ‘If you believe that a guy whose been creating AIs since he was 17 with no incidents like that one suddenly created a murder-bot by his lonesome, you’re more of an idiot than I thought.’ He scowled. ‘Or maybe it just suits you for Tony to be the bad guy? That way you could justify not telling him the truth about his parents.’

‘Tony attacked Bucky!’ Steve insisted heatedly. ‘He tried to kill him!’

Onilo scoffed again. ‘If Tony was trying to kill him, Rogers, he’d be dead.’

Steve froze. ‘What are you talking about?’

Onilo rubbed the bridge of his nose. ‘Okay, let me explain this in little words: Tony has lots of boom-booms in suit. Tony fire unibeam at Bucky arm. If Tony want kill Bucky, he aim for head.’

‘I’m not an idiot!’ Steve snapped.

‘Could’ve fooled me.’ Onilo gave him a disparaging look. ‘Tony’s reaction, as I recall, was to hit you first. That place was monitored, so I know exactly what happened. There was nothing Tony did in that moment that someone else in the same situation wouldn’t have done. Whether or not it was Bucky doesn’t take away the fact that Tony lost his parents – they were murdered in cold blood on a back road. And then the world was lied to about it. They said Howard was drunk driving. Tony spent 25 years blaming his father for something he had no control over; something he could never have stopped. Don’t try lying to me about how you were sparing Tony the pain of reopening old wounds. That’s a load of BS. You just didn’t want to acknowledge that this was how Howard Stark died – because that meant Bucky’s hands did kill him.’

‘It wasn’t Bucky!’ Steve insisted.

‘You need to learn to listen. I didn’t say it was Bucky. I said it was Bucky’s _hands_. Besides, do you think that matters to anyone? Of course not. Just you. All the everyday man sees is the dead bodies. Congratulations, it’s now going to take years until they’ll be able to find a jury of unbiased peers for your buddy.’

‘A what?’

‘Trials,’ Onilo said, ‘ideally have a jury of unbiased peers to determine guilt or innocence. The procecution would have to prove to them that Bucky was guilty of these murders beyond reasonable doubt. His lack of cognitive agency at the time of the murders would actually serve him greatly. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the Winter Soldier that tore a civilians off of his motorbike and threw him into oncoming traffic. It wasn’t the Winter Soldier that assisted in the fight at the airport. It wasn’t the Winter Soldier that helped you beat Tony Stark to a bloody pulp.’

‘Bucky was defending himself!’ Steve insisted.

‘From civilians?’ Onilo demanded. ‘From a grieving man who’d been betrayed by the guy that his dad always told him was the epitome of goodness and virtue and morality in the world?’

Steve ignored the description of Tony. It was only meant to distract him; to guilt him into submitting. ‘We didn’t have a choice! Tony wasn’t going to stop!’

‘Then maybe you shouldn’t have escalated the situation by beating him up until he couldn’t get up again.’

Steve shot him a disapproving look. ‘We did what we had to do. My friends know that!’

It didn’t seem to affect him though. ‘These would be the same friends you lied to and told that Tony attacked you for no reason?’

‘I didn’t—’

‘Save it!’ Onilo interrupted him. ‘We’ve already talked to everybody else. They all told us the same thing: they thought Tony had lied to Sam and attacked you two for no reason. We didn’t bother telling Maximoff the truth. She’s a psycho who’d get gratification out of it. Clint will find out during his trial. We did show Scott and Sam the truth though. Sam went into shock, and Scott tossed his cookies – which, when you think about it, is the perfect metaphor for the nature of this whole ordeal.’

Steve was about to defend Wanda – she was just a kid! He had no right to call her “psycho”! But he hadn’t been able to get a word in edgewise. Then he was stunned at Sam’s reaction, and also Scott’s. Onilo’s remark at the end had him confused. ‘What do you mean?’

‘It’s sickening.’ Onilo glared at him. ‘You stand on your little high horse, disparaging everyone else for keeping secrets and acting like you’re the be-all-end-all of morality. But you’re keeping a much bigger secret; a secret that isn’t even yours to keep. You lie all over the place to cover it up and when you get found out, you lie some more. Lying to someone about how their parents died – especially when they’re adults and there’s no excuse not to tell them – is immoral in most, if not all, socieities. Some places even consider it worse than committing the murder itself. I don’t know about this state in particular but I do know some states consider it accessory to murder to conceal a murder.’ He walked to the bars and looked Rogers right in the eye. ‘Howard Stark made you everything you are. He spent the rest of his life searching for you and mourning you. When you woke up, his son, who was pushed aside on account of you, supported you and helped you in every way he could. If you needed anything, all you had to do was ask him. And this is how you repay them? You may have been a good man once, Rogers. I don’t know, but you may have been. You’re not anymore though. A good man would have told the truth, regardless of what it cost him.’

Onilo turned his back and walked away.

Steve suddenly felt very small.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I just _had_ to do that narcissist definition. :)


	12. Goodbyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the Saiyans to return home.

‘So you go to these coordinates and then you get transported back to your own universe?’ Tony asked.

‘Yup.’ Alfal patted the hull of the ship. ‘Love to stick around and watch the results but some of those Kais...’ He shook his head. ‘Don’t get me wrong, they’re all crazy but I don’t feel like getting nonsensically screamed at because we screwed up their schedule.’

‘I thought you guys were Gods,’ Peter Quill remarked with a grin.

‘So are they,’ Dila said.

‘Well, we’ll miss you,’ Tony said. He pulled something out of his jacket pocket. ‘Here. Consider it a thank you present.’

Onilo took the gift and opened it. ‘A miniturised Arc Reactor?’

‘I figure it’ll be a good back-up if anything goes wrong with your ship,’ Tony said. ‘Alfal said you guys still had to refuel. With that thing, you won’t. It generates three gigjouls per second, and it’s self-renewing.’

Onilo smiled. ‘Thank you.’

Tony cracked his own smile. ‘Well, I had to thank you for coming and dealing with all our problems somehow.’

The three Saiyans chuckled.

***

 **Space**  
Alfal set the minuturised Arc Reactor into the storage compartment. He’d put it in the ship properly when they got home. He walked back onto the bridge and sat down at the scanning console.

‘Interesting human, that one,’ Dila remarked. ‘He was born into wealth and privilage and yet he’s one of the most charitable people I’ve ever met – even if you factor in the fact that he’s a first-generation rich kid.’

‘Yeah, really.’ Onilo sat back from the navigation console and stretched. ‘It’s probably the curse of genius. Your brain can take in all these different concepts that other people can’t even begin to comprehend. Tony’s emotional state is probably hereditary.’

‘It is,’ Alfal said. ‘I had to dig pretty deep, but I found his father followed many of the same behavioural patterns as Tony. The difference was that he had no equivalent of Rhodey, and his Pepper was less certain of her place in his life. Maria knew Howard loved her – that much is obvious – but she didn’t presume to involve herself in his business with S.H.I.E.L.D., which was probably a mistake.’

‘Oh, please.’ Dila waved a hand. ‘S.H.I.E.L.D. was shadier than an ancient oak tree. I don’t know what Howard was even thinking with them.’

‘Well, we don’t know and we can’t ask.’ Onilo brought them around to the dark side of Earth’s moon. ‘Let’s just line up and get out butts home.’

‘Think we’ll ever come back?’ Dila asked.

‘Only if they need us again,’ Alfal said. ‘I’m gonna miss them.’

***

 **Earth**  
‘The last of the trials has finally closed, ending the chapter of the Rogue Avengers for good,’ the female reporter on the TV said. ‘Steve Rogers spent an inordinate amount of time justifying his actions as, in so many words, “defending Bucky Barnes”. Due to his inability to give satisfactory answers to any of his crimes, he has been sentenced to 40 years in prison, without the possibility of parole, and correctional therapy.’

***

‘Natalia Romanova has been found to have been an illegal alien on American soil since S.H.I.E.L.D. scooped her up in the mid-90s. She has no visa and all of her offical documentation was faked by the organisation. For this reason, she has been shipped back to Russia where she will be tried in her homeland for treason, which she committed when she abandoned her previous employers in favour of joining S.H.I.E.L.D.’

***

‘Clint Francis Barton left retirement for a battle he had no stakes in and no business being involved in, it appears, simply because Steve Rogers called him. With this kind of justification for the amount of crimes he ended up committing, it leaves us to wonder if perhaps the legend of Captain America has been given too much power.’

***

‘Sam Wilson has been dishonourably discharged from the United States Air Force and fired from the Veterans Association. However, because he has formerly apologised for all the harm he caused in the name of Captain America, and admitted how he allowed hero worship to guide his actions, he has recieved the most lenient of all sentences. He is only subject to ten years in prison with the possibility of parole in six.’

***

‘Wanda Maximoff has been deported back to her home country. Her powers were stripped using a device invented by Tony Stark and the alien, Alfal. Her hands, broken by the alien, Dila – in a move that has gained much debate across all platforms – have mostly repaired but it is believed she will be more susceptible to arthritis in her later years if her trial in Sokovia doesn’t sentence her to death.’

***

‘In other news, Tony and Pepper Stark have released an offical announcement that they’re expecting a child in August.’

***

 **August, 2019**  
‘Easy, Pep. It’s almost over.’

‘Easy for you to say – oh, shit! Goddamn it, Tony! We are _never_ having sex again after this!’

Tony began talking before she finished. ‘But Chris just said she could see the head! That means the baby’s started coming through. Oh, that is just mean!’

And Pepper started talking over him. ‘Yeah, but the shoulders still have to come through—’ She broke into a scream.

‘It’s a girl,’ Christine Palmer said, lifting the baby up.

Stephen Strange clapped Tony on the shoulder as Pepper let go of his hand and eagerly reached for her daughter.

‘Congratulations, Tony,’ Stephen said. ‘You got a name in mind?’

‘Yeah,’ Tony said, smiling as he watched Chris cut the umbilical cord, clean the baby up, and wrap her in a blanket before passing her to Pepper. ‘Emiline Maria Stark.’

Stephen chuckled and picked up a form and a pen to write the name down.

The two doctors walked out of the bedroom and headed down to the living room, leaving the new parents to coo over their newborn child.

‘I can’t believe you talked me into this,’ Chris complained as the sat down and she settled into the crook of Stephen’s arm. ‘Who does home delivery anymore?’

‘Come on, now,’ Stephen said, rubbing her shoulder. ‘They were right to be concerned. You’ve seen the number of people who personally blame Tony for their fallen idol – and you know exactly what those type of people are. I wouldn’t be too crazy about having my child born in a hospital in those circumstances either.’

Christine sighed and rested her head against Stephen’s shoulder. ‘I suppose not. And I guess that explains why he came to you to find a doctor he could trust to deliver the baby.’

Stephen chuckled.

‘Of course, you realise I’m going to get a reputation for this now.’

‘What? Being the doctor the enhanced can rely on for medical help? I fail to see how that’s a bad thing. Think about it. You could start up your own practice.’

Christine went to say something, then she stopped. ‘That...has merit.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's nothing on Scott because no one knows who he is and no one cares about him.
> 
> In the comics, Christine Palmer does actually have a practice (or something like it) for the superheroes of NY.


End file.
